WHY ARE MANUFACTURERS STILL USING INFERIOR RFID BLOCKING MATERIAL?

Often manufacturers (erroneously or unknowingly) pretend that their RFID blocking material used blocks all RFID frequencies and that it protects at a high shielding attenuation level.They even show you a certificate on demand to substantiate their (wrong) claims.

Even worse, they simply claim that their products are RFID secure without providing evidence (lack of transparency) or declaring the material used.

A few manufacturers, using inferior RFID blocking material, honestly inform their customers on their websites (small prints) that their products protect only most of the frequencies; but often they don't specify which ones. In the end the customers get the short end of the stick, not knowing that not all of their smart cards and passports are protected.

Why all of those manufacturers make such evidently misleading assertions?

Some manufacturer think they are not only experts in their fields (craftmanship) but also experts in RFID shielding attenuation. But they are definitely wrong.

They often rely on their own tests and test procedures with weak, low performing RFID readers, for example smartphone apps. These tests aren't reliable and valid nor objective from a scientific point of view.

They often rely on laboratory tests of institutes whose procedures and experiments are neither objective, public nor transparent. These tests often don't meet scientific standards and aren't reproducible. And often manufacturers keep the test reports and test results under lock.

They sometimes pretend that they didn't find a way to handle the RFID blocking material from CRYPTALLOY in a proper manner. But this reflects rather a lack of production experience and of craftmanship know how. Furthermore this is definetely a flimsy excuse because worldwide known companies are using CRYPTALLOY (list of manufacturers).Instead they are using metal coated fabrics although knowing that fabrics don't block sufficiently. In doing so they lose sight of the safety requirements of their consumers who rely themselves on the pledges of the manufacturers.Conversley manufacturers processing CRYPTALLOY RFID blocking material, all characterised by their craftman skills, expertise and tradition, don't have these processing difficulties at all. In case of doubt they rely on the consulting services of the manufacturer with respect to processing. The manufacturer provides guidance with regard to usage and handling of the material at each step of production.

Some manufacturers prefer RFID blocking material other than CRYPTALLOY because of the eventually lower price per square meter compared to the price/sqm for CRYPTALLOY. For lower production costs they often implicitly accept a loss of consumer's safety (and a loss of their reputation, too).

﻿﻿They﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿ are apparently ﻿not ﻿aware that they risk a damage of their image, a case of liability and a loss of the repu﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿tation of their brand and company by using B-grade material if an incident should occur.

They sometimes know that their material doesn't work for all frequencies. And they are honest enough to admit it, but often only concealed (small prints) and not bluntly.

NON-SPECIFIC OR EVEN MISLEADING ARGUMENTS

Often manufacturers pretend that their RFID blocking material used in their products is blocking effectively, with misleading or general arguments.

As a wary traveler and shopper, i.e. consumer you should examine their arguments and call them into doubts.Watch out for traps!

"Protects your cards and passports from data theft via radio transmission."Questions: What kind of cards and passports are protected?Which frequencies and which type of RFID tags?Which material has been used, from which manufacturer?

"Protects most of the cards from electronic pickpocketing (RFID skimming)."Questions:Which cards are protected?Are for example cards which operate at 125 KHz also blocked (access control cards, car and bike sharing cards, tickets)?

"Protects RFID transponders with frequency of 13.56 MHz, only."Questions: Do you as a consumer know at which frequency your card and passport operate?Are your own cards protected?What happens with the cards that operate at a different frequency range (kHz, GHz for example)?

"Protects 99% from data theft via radio transmission.""The metal coated fabric used blocks 99% of all RFID-frequencies used for illegally scanning information."Questions: Are there any attestations and/or certificates from the manufacturer confirming shielding attenuation at a scientific level?What kind of (laboratory) equipment has been used for the tests?Is the charged institute a known company?Do the tests meet scientific standards (experimental conditions and replicable results)?Which frequencies are within the 99% range? Is 125 KHz also included?Note from the manufacturer of the CRYPTALLOY RFID blocking material KRYPTRONIC TECHNOLOGIES:"The quality of the screen attenuation for RFID/NFC radio transmission against contactless readout of data via radio transmission is ordinary measured in dB (dezibel). For the frequency 13.56 MHz the institute for high frequency, microwave and radar engineering at the university of the German armed forces at Munich (Germany) has measured a screen attenuation value of 92dB. A potentially rest signal isn't measurable. A radio contact can't be established at all.Not only does CRYPTALLOY shield radio transmission at a maximum level, it also disturbs temporarily the electronic components of the RFID transponder. But how? Attenuation and shielding are achieved on the one hand by a reflection of the electromagnetic fields through a combination of a high permeable metal alloy and aluminum, on the other hand, the tank/resonant circuits of the RFID chip are prevented from oscillating when surface contact or even just an approach takes place. "

"Blocks RFID/NFC radio transmission signals."Questions:Which signals and which frequencies are blocked?Which shielding screen attenuation level has been achieved?Which cards and passports are protected?Note:Often weak RFID readers with low performance are used for testing (or for demonstration at fairs).

﻿﻿"We as a manufacturer have a certificate or a testing seal."﻿﻿Questions:What those certificates or testing seals mean?Is the certificate recognized in the industry?TÜV certificate:The RFID blocking material CRYPTALLOY has a TÜV seal (certificate 51211A; number related to the manufacturer KRYPTRONIC TECHNOLOGIES) because consumers know and rely on the TÜV seals.For materials tested, the TÜV Germany only confirms to manufacturers of RFID blocking materials that those materials have a certain shielding attenuation level. But the TÜV doesn't confirm security against RFID attacks by RFID readers and professional RFID equipment. So a TÜV certificate doesn't mean automatically that RFID chips of cards and passports are secure by those materials used for RFID blocking.Nonetheless CRYPTALLOY has passed the TÜV tests.Furthermore the CRYPTALLOY RFID blocking material is regularly tested for a maximum of screen attenuation in its own laboratory of the manufacturer KRYPTRONIC TECHNOLOGIES, Germany.Measurement report (OFCOM)The RFID blocking characteristics of CRYPTALLOY material has also been confirmed by the Federal Office of Communication (OFCOM, Switzerland) in its measurement report for Federal Office of Police (FEDPOL, Switzerland).Test report (German Armed Forces University (Section: RF and Microwaves, Radars)).Measuring the shielding efficiency against electromagnetic waves from 20 kHz to 4 GHz of the CRYPTALLOY metallized foil according to ASTM D-4935-10 (American Society Testing & Materials) presents outstanding values of shielding efficiency).

﻿"The present RFID protection of the material is sufficient."﻿Questions:What does sufficient mean?How is this defined?Are all cards and passports at all frequencies protected at a maximum level?Note:Play it safe with products with integrated RFID blocking film from CRYPTALLOY. This holds true for all types of RFID/NFC cards and passports and for all types of frequencies, without any restrictions, demonstrable and provable.

﻿"The material blocks RFID readers from stealing data up to a frequency range of 30MHz to 3 GHz."﻿Questions:At which damping levels does the material attenuate?What are the dB-levels for each frequency range within the frequency bands?How is the protection achieved? Only by damping? Or does the material additionally also interferes with the integrated tank circuit of the RFID chip?Note:CRYPTALLOY doesn't only attenuate. It also interferes with the integrated tank circuit of the RFID chips in order to guarantee highest level of protection.

﻿"Material used: RFID blocking lining; RFID secure."﻿Questions:Are there any informations about the material used (transparency; reference to manufacturer of the material) on the website or in the product description?For which frequencies does the manufacturer claim RFID protection? At which shielding attenuation levels?Should the customers only trust in the assertions on the website (for example product description) of the manufacturer?Are there any technical reports of a testing authority or testing center?Note:The manufacturer of CRYPTALLOY and its sales partners attach importance to / emphasize transparency about the characteristics of the RFID blocking material used by manufacturers.

﻿"Some cards have less sensitive informations and work on a different frequency. These types of cards are generally not affected."﻿Questions:What means less sensitive informations?Is it the task of the manufacturer to separate between cards worth for RFID protection or not and to decide which deserve it?On which basis has the manufacturer come to this conclusion? Which is the decision criterion?What means "generally not affected"?How does the manufacturer knows this exactly?Why are customers left in the lurch?Note:CRYPTALLOY protects for all RFID frequencies, regardless of the data and information stored on the RFID chip and regardless of the RFID frequency.

﻿"The most sophisticated solution against RFID scanning attacks."﻿Questions:Is there any proofing evidence that the technical characteristics of the material are superior to those of other materials on the market? Is it really hack-proof?What kind of material is incorporated in the products with built-in RFID technology?Does it really deflects any unwanted attempts at reading RFID-enabled smart cards, smart keys and passports?Do the products incorporating RFID blocking material really bring added security?Note:Not without reason the manufacturer of CRYPTALLOY and its sales partners attach importance to / emphasize transparency about the characteristics of the RFID blocking material used by manufacturers.It is recommended to enquire the manufacturer which material is incorporated in the products.

As an unwary traveler and shopper you can be victimized by data theft without losing anything (at the first glance), and without getting hacked. Don't get your data snatched.

This publication contains references to products of manufacturers using CRYPTALLOY RFID blocking material in their products. Their products and services mentioned herein as well as their respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of these companies or an affiliate company. All other product and service names mentioned are the trademarks of their respective companies.

Data contained in this document serves informational purposes only. The publisher shall not be liable for errors or omissions with respect to the informations on this website (www.rfid-off.com; www.nfc-off.com; www.rfidoff.com; www.nfcoff.com).

The manufacturer of the CRYPTALLOY RFID blocking film is neither the author nor the publisher of this publication and is not responsible for its content. This isn't the official website of the manufacturer. The publisher of this website is a sales partner of the manufacturer..

Be aware of manufactures who are still using inadequateRFID blocking material. More ...

100 kHz125/134 kHz13.56 MHz433 MHz868 MHz

915/950 MHz1800 MHz2.4 GHz3 GHz4 GHz

Travelling and shopping with CRYPTALLOY RFID blocking.Benefit of the advantages of RFID/NFC technology without renouncing safety and protection of your data. Hack-proof.

RFID? NFC? RFID blocking material? How does CRYPTALLOY work?

RFID stands for Radio Frequency Identification. NFC stands for Near Field Communication.Both technologies are used very widely because of its benefits (for example contactless payment, access control, border crossing).

A RFID chip is invisibly embedded into smart cards, car keys and passports to store, communicate and transfer information by means of radio transmission.

Although RFID provides shoppers and travellers with the convenience they want, there is definitely a compromise with respect to security.As RFID uses electromagnetic, i.e. radio waves to communicate data and information, they risk the chance of having data and information stolen contactlessly by electronic pickpocketing (RFID skimming, RFID scanning) with a (illegal) RFID reader via radio transmission.

This is where RFID protection with CRYPTALLOY RFID blocking material comes into play. This smart high tech material prevents RFID readers from tapping into the radio transmission and reading out and so stealing data and informations from the RFID tag (RFID transponder). The CRYPTALLOY film is scientifically proved for all RFID frequencies.

With RFID/NFC technology travellers and shoppers are discovering an inherent trade-off that must be overcome to achieve a balance between convenience, data protection and privacy. CRYPTALLOY RFID blocking material is an essential component in mastering the risks. It isolates RFID chips from its surrounding.

To counter that threat and so to prevent unwanted and incorrect RFID scanning, manufacturers offer to their customers a value adding security feature by using a technical RFID barrier.

They embed/incorporate the unique RFID blocking material of the brand CRYPTALLOY into its products as an inner layer. This material guarantees shielding performance and screen attenuation at the highest level and so keeps your personal data and financial information private, secure and safe. It blocks the communication between RFID tag and RFID reader.

These manufacturers in combination with a rigorous quality management system ensure that you benefit of the advantages of RFID/NFC-technology without renouncing safety and protection of your valuable data.